Like Tears of the Heart
by writehanded
Summary: After being attacked by a stranger, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke hang close to death. But when Naruto wakes up to find Sasuke in a coma, he's forced to deal with feelings that he didn't even know he had.
1. Chapter 1

**Warnings: **Blatant male/male relationships, violence, swearing, and there'll probably be some smoking and drinking thrown in there somewhere, too. If any of this offends you, you may want to click the "back" button now. :smile:

**Disclaimer: **I never have, and I never will (well, never say never, but...), own "Naruto." Since this is a fanfiction website, I should think that that's pretty obvious, but in case that small detail was somehow overlooked, no, I don't. I'd love to, but I don't. Clear enough for you?

**Author's Note: **Wow. Yet another Naruto story. Am I making a record here or something?

I really shouldn't be starting _yet another_ multi-chaptered story, but I couldn't help myself. :sigh: This story is going to be different from my others. For a start,_it's not an alternate universe!_ Cool, huh? That means that it could _actually happen!_

...Well, sort of. :sweatdrop:

Okay, another difference is, if you couldn't already tell by the horribly and unforgiveably cheesy title, this fic is going to have _angst._ You got that? _ANGST._ Why? Because I feel like it. What can I say? I'm mildly to moderately sadistic. :grins Uzumaki-style: Um, yes, angst. And FLUFF! Yes, FLUFF! A _hell_ of a lot of fluff. Why? I DON'T KNOW! Probably because I'm romance starved and desperate for some love. So what so I do? Go out and find a boyfriend, you say? Don't be silly! I make some up, of course!

So! Here you go! An angst-ridden, fluff-stuffed, semi-realistic version of a fictional character's life! Woo hoo:throws confetti:

No, but seriously, I hope you guys like it. Believe it or not (believe it! Heh heh heh...had to throw that in there...), I spent a _hell _of a lot of effort on this. I wrote it super-fast, too. Except for the last part. I wrote the last part first, about five days ago. Then I wrote the first part...maybe two days ago. Then I filled it in all of yesterday, and finished it today. Anyway! The point is, I worked really hard on this, whether or not it shows. Also! This is my first attempt at something a little more heavy, emotion-wise. So I really do hope you guys like it. Please please PLEASE tell me what you think! (Preferably if what you think happens to be good. :nervous smile:)

Okay, then! Here you go, for real this time!

No more stalling!

I mean it!

...Really!

--------------------------------------

**Like Tears of the Heart**

Hatake Kakashi kicked open the door to Tsunade's office, an unconscious Uchiha Sasuke cradled in his arms, and an unconscious Uzumaki Naruto flung over his shoulder.

Tsunade looked up and stared in shock for a split second, taking in the sight before her. Kakashi looked fine (physically, anyway), which implied that he had not been in the area when the two boys had been knocked out. Haruno Sakura ran in beside her teacher, tears streaming down her face and blood running from several semi-serious wounds. Naruto had some scraps on his arms, legs, and face which were all minor, but there was a large, horribly gory injury in his side —a sizeable chunk of flesh was missing, almost as if something had taken a bite out of him. But the situation, unfortunately, was probably a lot more complicated than that. Sasuke was the one who seemed to be in the worst condition. He was even paler than usual, with bad bruising, but the corner of his mouth and a lone cut on his cheek were the only places that he bled from. That could be either very good or very bad. In this case, it was probably bad.

Tsunade stood up then, various paperwork on her desk flying off in every different direction.

"Jesus Christ! What happened?.!" she shouted.

Kakashi gave her no answer as he strode toward her desk, his mouth set in a grim line through his mask. Tsunade was at Kakashi's side in a second, guiding him to her desk and sweeping off the remaining contents.

"Here, put him down," she instructed unnecessarily, Kakashi already placing Sasuke gingerly on the large wooden surface. "Careful—watch his head. Give, ah, actually, hold Naruto a second. Oh, God. MEDIC!" she bellowed toward the open office door.

"They're on their way," was Kakashi's terse reply.

Tsunade placed a hand on Sasuke's neck, searching for a pulse. It was there, but frighteningly slow. She glanced at Naruto, who was still bleeding heavily from his wounded side. Sakura was sobbing uncontrollably, her tears mixing with the blood on her face, creating a noxious pink liquid that dripped off the end of her chin.

Tsunade stared into Kakashi's eyes as a team of medics rushed in. The two adults shared the same terrifying thought—were they too late?

--------------------------------------------------

Naruto awakened to the overwhelming sensation of pain. It was everywhere—in his arms, on his thighs, across his cheeks, but mostly, it was in his side. His side hurt so badly, he could've sworn it was on fire. He moaned.

"Na-Naruto?" the voice was familiar, female. "Oh, God—Naruto! Naruto, say something!"

"Mmuh..." Naruto gurgled. "Hurts."

"Oh, Naruto! I'm so glad you're alright!" Naruto would've made a dry comment about blinding pain and the concept of "alright," but he quickly realized that he lacked the energy to do so "Oh, thank God! Thank God you're okay! I'll—I'll... _Iruka-sensei!_"

The following pounding of footsteps almost perfectly matched the pounding in Naruto's brain.

"Sakura," Umino Iruka's concerned voice said. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Naruto's awake!" the female voice, now easily recognizable as Sakura, yelled ecstatically.

There was another series of rushing footsteps, then Naruto felt a calloused hand gently touch the side of his face.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked. "Naruto, are you okay? Please, if you can hear me, say something."

"Hurts," Naruto mumbled again.

Iruka sighed—in relief, presumably. "Oh, Naruto. I—was so worried. I'll get you some pain medication right away. Sakura, could you please help him sit up?"

"Of course, Iruka-sensei," Sakura said, her voice sounding choked.

"I'll be back in just a second, Naruto. Hang on, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Naruto muttered, clenching his teeth in pain as Sakura carefully eased him into a more upright position. She leaned Naruto back until he was propped against a headboard—of a bed, probably. Naruto let his head touch the wall behind him, relaxing with a sigh. He grimaced once more before opening his eyes.

At first, the sunshine-lit room was a shock, and he immediately shut his eyes again, hit with the absurd notion that his eyeballs would be burned out of his head. He opened his eyes again after a moment, more slowly this time, and stopping when his gaze was only at half-mast.

He _was_ in a bed. In some sort of hospital ward, it seemed. Having never been a sickly child, Naruto had never required medical attention that needed him brought to a hospital (not that anyone would have noticed or cared if he'd needed it, of course). Naruto had been briefly hospitalized after a few rough missions since he'd become a chuunin, but he'd managed to avoid serious injury for a while now. The room he was in currently was different than the one he had stayed in last. This one was smaller, with almost no furniture, a closed curtain on his left, and a lot—a _lot_—of light. The room's sparse, well-lit design made sense, Naruto supposed. If someone was in dire need of medical attention and required, say, complicated surgery, it wouldn't do to have things get in the way. And it would be awfully inconvenient to have to operate in the dark.

Sakura was sitting next to Naruto on what appeared to be the only chair in the room. She had a few bandages wrapped around her forearms and had a nasty-looking bruise on her right cheekbone—evidence of being back-handed. She was staring into Naruto's face with enormous, tear-filled eyes, a watery smile on her pretty face. Naruto couldn't help smiling back at this open display of concern. It was true that they'd gotten a lot closer over the years (unfortunately for Naruto, not in _that_ way), but it was rare for Sakura to show such obvious affection for him. Usually, it would have totally made Naruto's day to see such an expression directed at him, but in this case, it probably meant that he was in seriously bad shape.

Naruto winced a little as he tried to sit up further.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, his voice hoarse.

"Hey," she answered, a few tears spilling over onto her cheeks as her smile widened.

Naruto laughed softly, then quickly regretted the action—a fresh wave of pain had washed over his right side because of it. He tried not to show his discomfort. "Sakura," he said. "Why're you crying? Not worried about _me,_ are you? Whatever it was that put me here, don't worry—it'll take little more than _that_ to put Uzumaki Naruto out of commission. Believe it!"

Sakura cracked another smile at Naruto's childhood mantra.

...Actually, who was he kidding? "Childhood mantra"? Please. He still said that phrase, like, a zillion times a day. He couldn't help it. It was a reflex.

Just then, Iruka rushed back into the room holding a large glass of water and something clenched in his other fist. He visibly relaxed when he saw Naruto leaning against the headboard, now wide-awake and smiling—albeit grimacing.

Iruka smiled as he walked to Naruto's bedside, handing the blonde both the glass of water and two pills.

Naruto looked down at the pills for a few moments, then grinned. "Hey, cool!" he said. "These pills are _orange!_ This is awesome!" He downed the pills cheerfully, then swallowed the entire glass of water after it.

"Ahh..." he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He glanced at Sakura again, who had managed to stop crying but was now sniffling rather pathetically, then to Iruka, who was gazing down at Naruto as if he had just descended from the heavens.

"Jeez, what is _with_ you guys?" he asked, looking between the two, bewildered. "How long was I out, anyway?"

"You've been unconscious for nearly three days," Sakura said, swiping at her eyes. "For a long time you wouldn't stop bleeding. For a while, we...we thought you were going to die. We really thought you were going to die! It was horrible!"

Sakura's face contorted and her green eyes overflowed again, the stream of tears now unstoppable. Naruto blinked hard, frowning.

"…Three days, huh," he repeated gravely. "…No wonder I have to pee so bad."

Iruka and Sakura stared at Naruto with identical flat expressions. He stared back, wide-eyed and confused.

"What?" he asked. "It's true!"

Iruka sighed. "I'm sure it's true, Naruto, but it's not something that Sakura or I is especially worried about right now. Besides...there's something else that we've got to tell you."

"Yeah, yeah, just a second," Naruto said, arching his back slightly. "I've really got to go. Like, seriously. Where's the can?"

Iruka sighed again, then wordlessly pointed to a door Naruto hadn't even noticed.

"Okay. Thanks," the blonde said, getting up out of bed. He almost tipped over as soon as his feet touched the floor, but he pressed his right arm against the wall and managed to remain standing. He waved off Iruka's offer of help and shuffled uneasily to the bathroom. "Just a sec," he said, stumbling inside and shutting the door behind him.

A few minutes and several stubbed toes later, Naruto slid back into bed with a sigh, briefly silent while he caught his breath. Man. Pissing was getting harder and harder these days.

After a moment, Naruto looked up. "Okay," he said. "Now, what was the thing you guys wanted to tell me?"

Iruka's face immediately turned somber. "Naruto...what I've got to say...it might—"

"Hey, wait a second!" Naruto interrupted furiously, his sky blue eyes bulging from anger. "Where the hell is Sasuke?.! That bastard think he's too good to even come and _see_ me? Ugh! That _prick! _As soon as I get better, I'm gonna kill him!"

"That may not be necessary, Naruto," Iruka said sharply.

Naruto's heartbeat skidded to a halt. His blood froze in his veins, and the suddenly silent room seemed to spin.

"...What?" Naruto got out, not even allowing himself to comprehend Iruka's statement.

The dark-haired teacher's face was set like stone. "We're not sure if he's going to make it, Naruto," Iruka said. "Unlike you, almost all of his injuries were internal, and they were incredibly severe."

"_What?_."

This couldn't be happening. Sasuke was...Sasuke was...Sasuke was—!

Iruka's dark eyes flickered with surprise. "You don't remember?"

"Remember? Remember what?.! Iruka-sensei—what's happened to Sasuke? What do you mean, he was injured?" Naruto lurched forward, crying out and grasping his right side when he felt his wound twist unnaturally. "Where is he?" Naruto demanded, panic starting to flood his system. "Where is Sasuke? Well, where is he? What happened to him, Iruka?.! Tell me what happened to Sasuke!"

Iruka looked taken-aback from Naruto's sudden outburst, and he remained silent.

"Iruka!" Naruto bellowed. "Please!"

"It was supposed to be a simple mission."

Two male heads swiveled to look at Sakura, who both had almost forgotten that she was there. Sakura's head was bowed, her pink hair falling forward and concealing her face. Her voice was frighteningly emotionless.

"All we had to do was retrieve a scroll," Sakura continued tonelessly. "And we did, without any trouble. We stayed the night in the other village, just like we were told to, and the next morning, we set off for home. For several hours, everything was fine." A pause. "And then...I'm not sure what happened. He appeared so fast. It must have been a ninja, but no ninja like I've ever seen before. He wore all black, and his eyes were kind of yellow, and almost slitted, like a lizard." Sakura's shoulders shook slightly as a tremor ran through her delicate frame. "We saw him approach us on the road, and I could tell something was wrong, but he was just walking, with his hands in his pockets and his face down. He gave us no reason to start a fight, so we didn't. Until..."

Sakura stopped again. Naruto almost reached over to shake the remaining information out of her, but he knew that the girl was trying her best to get out what were surely some very traumatic details. Even so, Naruto had to clench his fists to keep himself from grabbing her and forcing the words out.

"We...We were almost passed him," Sakura finally continued. "And then all of a sudden, he whipped his arm around and grabbed you by the hair, Naruto. He was so strong, he swung you around without pulling any hair out at all."

No wonder Naruto's head hurt.

"Sasuke and I both charged the attacker, but he used you as a human shield. It was amazing—he fought both Sasuke and I off, _and_ he held on to you, Naruto, and you were still struggling as all get out. Eventually Sasuke managed to land a kick, and you used the distraction to pull a Replacement Jutsu. But the guy saw right through it the second it happened. I didn't know that, though, and I came in close with my kunai. He—he hit me across the face, so hard, I was seeing dots. You hollered my name, giving your location away, and the guy swung the long—what you used as a replacement—straight into your stomach. You flew backwards into a tree, then you rolled down a hill, onto some jagged rocks. That's how you got the wound in your side, I guess. The man kicked me then—once in the chin and once in the chest—and I remember flying through the air. I must have hit my head on something. The last thing I remember was Sasuke switching on his Sharingan and directly facing the attacker, and the attacker grinned."

Sakura audibly swallowed. Drops of water fell onto her lap.

"Um—!" Her voice broke.

"Sakura..." Iruka started. "You don't have to—"

"No!" Sakura said vehemently, scrunching up the fabric in her lap. "I'm fine." She took a deep breath and let it out. "Um, when I came to, both you and Sasuke were knocked out. You were bleeding everywhere, and Sasuke...Sasuke was even worse. He showed almost no blood, but I could tell...something was wrong. Very wrong. You had somehow gotten back up the hill, and the attacker was dead—a chest wound, I think. There was blood everywhere. I managed to pull you and Sasuke the rest of the way back home, and I ran for help as soon as I was close enough. I found Kakashi-sensei, and he carried you and Sasuke into Tsunade's office. She made me leave the room, a medic treated the few wounds I had, then I was given drugs to make me sleep."

Sakura's shoulders began to shake.

"Naruto," she sobbed, reaching up a hand to wipe away the tears. "I—I'm so sorry! If only I had been a little stronger, or a little smarter, than I would've seen the attack coming. You and Sasuke were talking when the guy first showed up, and _I _was the one who should have been on her guard the most. I'm so sorry! Naruto, I'm just so sorry!"

Sakura dissolved into sadness, hot liquid pouring from her eyes and the room swelling with the sound of her misery.

But Naruto was deaf to her anguish.

He was listening to another sound, the sound of the attacker's voice, which was suddenly loud and painfully clear in his head.

--------------------------------------------------

_A man in black held Naruto firmly against his chest, the attacker's left elbow hooked around Naruto's neck. Sasuke and Sakura were attacking the man that held the blonde captive, without a single success. Naruto did a Replacement Jutsu when Sasuke's foot finally connected with the stranger's jaw, and the blonde concealed himself a few feet away, preparing for a surprise attack. But when Sakura got hit, Naruto couldn't help yelling out her name. The attacker swung the log Naruto replaced himself with into his gut, and Naruto flew backwards into something unforgivingly hard—a tree, presumably. His vision faded after that, and then a sense of flying, and then...extreme pain. And then...blackness. _

_The next memory Naruto had was waking up on a pile of knives. No, not knives—rocks. Enormous, unbelievably sharp rocks. One of which was completely imbedded into his side. Naruto's vision started to darken again, but something broke into his fading consciousness—a voice. Two, really, but only one that mattered. _

_Sasuke's._

_And he was in trouble._

_Naruto gritted his teeth and pulled himself shakily to his feet. His surroundings swam magnificently as he experienced the most powerful head-rush of his life. He wobbled back and forth on the uneven ground he found himself on, but by some miracle, he managed to remain standing. He reached down to his right side, his fingers closing around the butt the stone that had shoved itself underneath his ribs. Naruto took a deep breath, clenched his jaw, closed his eyes, and yanked. _

_The stone came out with a gush of blood and scream of agony._

_Naruto swallowed down the reflexive tears that had sprung into his eyes, taking in slow, even breaths. He would have given a handful of teeth to simply die where he stood, the pain was so terrible. But he couldn't. He could still hear the sound of Sasuke's voice, and he was screaming, too. _

_Naruto turned toward the noise. It came from the top of a hill that Naruto stood at the base of. Naruto set his jaw determinedly and started to climb._

_When he reached the summit, he found Sasuke bruised and gasping, his left arm curled protectively around his abdomen, the Sharingan blazing fiercely in his face. The stranger didn't seem injured, but he was breathing a little heavily, Naruto noticed. _

_The stranger smiled then—a feral baring of teeth. He slowly raised his right hand toward Sasuke, seeming not to notice Naruto yet. The man's hand glowed yellow for a moment, then he snapped his fingers closed. A crunching sound was heard. _

_Sasuke doubled over, his eyes bulging. He looked like he might vomit, but when his mouth opened, all that came out was a horrible, wracking cough._

_And a lungful of blood._

_"Sasuke!"_

_Both the attacker and the black-haired shinobi turned to look at Naruto, who was stumbling almost desperately toward his friend. Sasuke seemed to whisper a garbled version of Naruto's name, and the attacker simply grinned. _

_"Ah," the man said. His voice was cold and incredibly dry, as if the sound itself was shedding its skin. "There you are, Blondie. I was beginning to wonder if you'd up and died on me. Good to see you haven't." The grin widened. "I want to do it myself." _

_Naruto felt his blood literally run cold. _

_Sasuke whispered something through blood-splattered lips, his beautiful black eyes wide and imploring. _

_The attacker's grin turned into a sneer. "Don't do it?" he asked. "Why do you say that, love? It wouldn't do for me to have any competition, would it?" _

_Naruto barely had time to comprehend the man's words before the attacker raised a yellow-glowing hand in his direction. Naruto took a half-step back by instinct, terrified. Naruto had seen the damage that glowing hand could do just moments before. He knew that, coupled with the severity of the injury in his side, Naruto would not survive the attack. Or, if by some miracle he did survive, he would die soon after from blood loss—painfully coughed up until his throat tore out. _

_He closed his eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable. _

_...There was a loud crunching sound._

_"Fuck!" the attacker shouted._

_Naruto opened his eyes, thoroughly confused. What happened? Didn't that guy want him dead just a second befor—_

_Naruto's thoughts halted abruptly, as did his pulse. _

_"Ss...Sa..." Naruto couldn't even form the name. It wasn't until a moment later, when a ridged Sasuke collapsed in the dirt, that Naruto could move. _

_His numbed state of shock was violently ripped away, replaced by absolute horror._

_"SASUKE!"_

_Naruto started forward, but he barely moved a foot before his knees buckled beneath him. He crawled forward, feeling his blood ooze sullenly into his chuunin vest. The pain was nothing compared to the complete panic thrumming in his chest. _

_He made it over to his fallen comrade. Sasuke was lying on his stomach, his face to the side. Naruto gently rolled him onto his back, assessing the damage. Aside from the blood around his mouth from the coughing, Naruto didn't see anything. That was bad. Very bad. It meant the damage must have been internal, maybe in or around vital organs. _

_Naruto's breathing was dangerously fast as he fumbled to check Sasuke's pulse. It was so faint, Naruto wasn't sure if it was real or just a contour of his neck. _

_Naruto swallowed._

_"Sasuke?" he asked hoarsely. "Sa-Sasuke? Sasuke?_._!" Naruto swallowed again, trying to clear the painful lump that was stubbornly lodged in his throat. "Sasuke, please. Please wake up," he begged, his voice dropping to a ragged whisper. "Sasuke. You can't...you...Sasuke, come on. Why'd you do it, Sasuke? That was meant for me! Why'd you have to get in the way? _._!"_

_Naruto seized Sasuke's collar, as if that would somehow garner Sasuke's attention. "Why did you have to get in the way, you stupid idiot bastard?_._!"_

_"Because he didn't want you to die, obviously."_

_Naruto slowly looked up. The attacker watched him with a decidedly pissed expression. "The attacker?" No. Not anymore. Now he was so much worse than just an attacker. Now he was the man that had hurt Sasuke. Which made him the most foul creature on the face of the Earth. _

_He had hurt Sasuke._

_And just like that, it happened. All of Naruto's panic, horror, and desperation mutated in a flash to an emotion fairly unfamiliar to the sweet little blonde—uncontrollable fury. And now, now that Naruto had come in contact with a monster more horrifying than anything else he could imagine, the monster inside of him didn't seem so bad. In fact, in comparison, it seemed pretty fucking good. _

_So when Kyuubi clawed at Naruto's insides and howled for freedom, Naruto obliged him._

_And the demon was released._

_And it was magnificent._

_...For Kyuubi, anyway._

_The fox-demon charged forward, his incredible power barely contained by Naruto's human flesh. The Man Who Hurt Sasuke looked pretty startled for a moment—a supposedly down-for-the-count opponent gaining red eyes and a visible aura of power can do that to anyone—but he managed to get it together by the time Kyuubi got to him, blocking Kyuubi's first kick effectively. However, he found himself loosing ground as he was forced to back up under the heat of Kyuubi's blows. Essentially, being attacked by the demon felt like being attacked by a rock-slide. That is, a coordinated rock-slide. Each punch felt like a flying bolder, and each block felt like a granite wall. _

_Kyuubi strung his attacks together with effortless grace, aiming to force The Man Who Hurt Sasuke around in a circle, pushing him towards the edge of the hill. Kyuubi increased the speed and strength of his blows as they came closer to the edge, his delicious bloodlust almost making him drool. Personally, he couldn't care less who he was beating up, having no real attachment to Sasuke himself. However, he felt a bit of uncharacteristic sympathy for Naruto, whom Kyuubi had come to almost be fond of. Plus, Naruto's own anguish and fury fueled Kyuubi's desire to kill, and the blonde's personal chakra added another deadly layer to the ruthless onslaught of lethal attacks. _

_The Man Who Hurt Sasuke attempted to counter with little success. He felt a twinge of fear, something that he could not remember ever feeling before, as he realized that he was totally out of his league. He didn't even realize that he **had** a league. He had simply believed that he was undefeatable. Clearly, this misconception was quickly leading him to the end of his life. When he felt the edge of the hill beneath the heels of his feet, the twinge of fear turned into a full-fledged spasm. _

_He looked up into the red eyes of his blonde-haired attacker, suddenly finding himself at the mercy of a teenaged boy. No, not just a teenaged boy, he realized. This kid...was different._

_The kid—the thing—cocked his head. "And now, The Man Who Hurt Sasuke," he said. His voice was strange. It was two-toned—one voice was a young tenor, the other was a deep growl. "I will kill you."_

_In a movement too quick for the human eye to follow, Kyuubi thrust out his right arm, claws outstretched. The Man Who Hurt Sasuke let out a flesh-crawling scream as Kyuubi's fingers ripped into his chest. The fox-demon fished around inside a bit, relishing the way shattered rib fragments brushed against his forearm, and the sound of the man's blood squishing and squelching as it spurted onto the grass. Then the fox-demon found what he was looking for, and seized it in a coal-crushing grip. He gave a grin, his red eyes flashing brilliantly. _

_With a tremendous gush of blood, Kyuubi ripped out the man's heart, still beating in his hand._

_That is, until he crushed it._

_The Man Who Hurt Sasuke fell suddenly silent, and he tipped backwards, falling off the edge of the hill. As he plummeted to the ground, Kyuubi's eyes turned back to blue, and they rolled back in his head. The Man Who Hurt Sasuke and Naruto hit the dirt at almost exactly the same moment._

_---------------------------------------------------_

Naruto opened eyes that he hadn't realized he'd shut. He looked up slowly. His face was expressionless, but his blue eyes held an unreadable emotion that most closely resembled horror.

"I...don't feel very well," he announced to Iruka and Sakura.

And then he vomited.

----------------------------------------------------

After almost a straight hour of his body attempting to empty his already void stomach contents, Naruto passed out, both from trauma and exhaustion. Iruka sent Sakura home not long after, worrying for the girl's own health. Iruka, Kakashi, and Tsunade held shifts watching Naruto and...their other fallen patient. Sasuke had, in fact, survived the incident, but he had not shown any sign of consciousness since his rescue. Tsunade and her numerous medical assistants had fixed as much damage as they could—it was up to Sasuke, now. If Sasuke's subconscious mind gave him a valid enough reason to live, then God willing, he would. And if that wasn't the case...

No one dared to think about what would happen if that wasn't the case.

Naruto slept the rest of the day and well into the next. He woke up around noon, and under strict orders, swallowed down some broth and juice without gagging it back up. He chatted a little with Kakashi, who was watching him at the time, and seemed fine for a while. That is, until he worked himself into a state of such hysteria, frantically searching for Sasuke and shrieking out the other boy's name, that it took three able-bodied shinobi to hold him down, and another two to inject him with a sedative.

And Naruto slept some more.

-----------------------------------------------------

Naruto opened his door a crack, peeking into the empty hallway.

It was about three weeks after...that thing happened...and Naruto was beginning to go a little crazy. Well, if he was being completely honest with himself, he was a little crazy to begin with—he was going _very _crazy, then. The point was, he'd been cooped up in that tiny little hospital room of his for twenty-four and a half days (yes, he'd been counting), and he was loosing it! Stupid Tsunade-baa-chan was convinced it would Naruto at least (ha! "At least"? Was the hag totally bonkers or what?) for Naruto to completely recover. He was recovered already!

...There was, however, one thing that was bothering him. Naruto had yet to see Sasuke. Everyone was ordered not to tell him anything, but Iruka had slipped up a couple times, and Naruto had managed to ascertain one extremely, heart-swellingly important fact: Sasuke was alive.

For the time being. Clearly, he was not well. If he was, he would've come to see Naruto. The blonde was sure of it. They may both act like they hated each other, but in reality, the boys were...well, they were best friends. It sounded very cheesy and third-grader-ish to say, but it was true. Naruto and Sasuke were best friends. They had more in common than people thought. They were both very powerful, they were both extremely determined, but most importantly, they were both alone. Well, they weren't completely alone. They were _both_ alone, which implied that they had a natural bond, which meant that they were together, somehow.

Ha. "Alone together." How cheesy can you get?

But...Naruto couldn't deny it. Sasuke was the most important person in his life. He had been for a long time. If Sasuke had died...Naruto didn't know what he would have done. Well, actually, that was a lie. He was fairly certain what he would have done. If Sasuke had died, then Naruto would have gone with him.

So it was a good thing the bastard held on then, wasn't it? Because Naruto still wanted to be Hokage, damn it! And if that bastard kicked the bucket and made Naruto go with him, then Naruto would be like, _so_ pissed! Believe it!

Well, at least Naruto's "chaperones" (guards) had decreased in "number" (security) due to Naruto's increased "good behavior" (lack of freak-outs) over the past few weeks. Iruka, Kakashi, Tsunade, Sakura, and his other friends didn't hold watch over him anymore, and only came for visits now. Tsunade had assigned some other losers to make sure Naruto stayed in his room, satisfied with Naruto's "stable condition" (inability to escape).

But he was doing it this time! He really was! Naruto had managed to knock out his current guard when the guy bent over to pick up a dropped quarter, and he set up a kick-ass clone to pretend to be him until he got back. The guard was just some unknown chuunin, and he probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Even if the guy suspected something, he certainly wouldn't stab the clone to test his theory!

"Hee hee," Naruto giggled to himself, creeping out into the empty hallway. "I'm just too good."

Naruto passed and open window and paused. During his past attempts to escape, Naruto had tried to do just that—escape. But today, he didn't want to. There was something in the hospital, he believed, that he wanted even more than his freedom.

Sasuke.

Okay, given, Naruto didn't exactly know where they were keeping him, but he had to be somewhere around here, right? Right. And as a trained, fully qualified, and otherwise brilliantly talented chuunin, Naruto should have no trouble finding Sasuke at all. Right? Right.

-----------------------------------------------------

Wrong.

"Oh, my God," Naruto grumbled, shuffling through the hallway with hunched shoulders. "This place is a fucking maze."

Naruto had been trudging along for almost forty minutes, and still there was no sign of Sasuke! Even sick, that bastard was still making Naruto's life difficult! Ugh! Stupid Sasuke! As soon as Naruto found that guy, he was _so _going to throttle him. And then maybe he'd beat the ever-lovin' shit out of him, just for making Naruto worry so much. Damn that Sasuke! Naruto was probably getting gray hairs and everything!

Naruto threw open another door on his right, hardly caring to be quiet anymore. He glanced around half-heartedly. Large windows, a closed door in one wall, a bedside table, a cot made-up with very clean-looking white sheets, Sasuke, a small wooden chair—

...Wait.

"Sasuke!"

Naruto dashed over to the cot, dropping to his knees two feet away and skidding the last twenty-four inches. Sasuke was fast asleep. Thick bandages around his chest were visible through a dip in his collar. Naruto could only imagine that there were more under Sasuke's shirt, but the only others Naruto could see were a couple wrapped around his forearms and wrists. There was a tiny, healing line on his right cheek. His face was even paler than usual.

Naruto sighed. He awkwardly placed a hand on Sasuke's chest, almost afraid to touch him. Sasuke shifted in his sleep, and a few strands of raven hair fell into his face. Naruto absently pushed them aside, his fingers brushing against Sasuke's forehead. Naruto was momentarily startled. He'd never realized quite how soft Sasuke's skin was. Silky, almost. It was...really nice.

Naruto lightly ran his fingers across one of Sasuke's temples, unaware that his touch had become a caress.

"Sasuke," he said softly. "Why'd you do it? Why'd you have to put yourself in danger like that? Just like...with Haku." Naruto shook his head. "You're so much more important than me. If anyone should...should've..." Naruto broke off. He tried again, his voice barely above a whisper. "If anyone should've...been hurt...it should've been me."

Naruto clenched Sasuke's shirt in his hand, squeezing until his knuckles turned white.

"I'd rather die a thousand times...than see you like this, Sasuke," Naruto said, hoping that by some miracle, Sasuke could hear him.

-----------------------------------------------------

"Well, I'm back again," Naruto announced, closing the door behind him. He walked to Sasuke's cot and dropped into the small chair there—his "home away from home," as the expression went. It had been another two weeks since Naruto had first found Sasuke's room, and although he was released from the hospital ward a week ago, Naruto found himself spending the majority of his time here. Sasuke's color had gotten better since Naruto had started talking to him, and he was convinced it was because, a subconscious level, Sasuke could tell that Naruto was there. But it didn't really matter. Naruto would have visited all the time anyway.

Naruto crossed his arms, pouting. "Guess what, Sasuke? Tsunade-baa-chan was all mad at me again today. She said I was coughing yesterday, so I shouldn't come visit. Can you believe that? I thought the matter was settled the _first_ time she chewed me out over coming to see you. Annoying hag. She knows I'd come to see you anyway."

Naruto paused. When Sasuke's only response was a quiet sigh, Naruto continued to pout.

"I'm still pissed at you, by the way," Naruto informed Sasuke sullenly. "As soon as you come around, I'm kicking your ass, you got that? I could be training now! Or at least getting some sleep or something. You're wasting so much of my time!"

Naruto paused again, slumping lower in his chair. He then glanced over at his best friend's sleeping face.

Unbidden, a delicate blush bloomed across Naruto's face. Bright light streamed into the room softly, lightly brushing the young shinobi's features, accentuating the chiseled forms of his cheekbones, the regal slope of his nose, the gentle curve of his cheek. Now, asleep and at peace, the usually dark, brooding creature looked...innocent. And...so achingly beautiful, it almost hurt to look at him.

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered, the tone of his voice totally different from a few moments before. The word was little more than a breath, a group of syllables uttered so reverently and with such perfect sweetness, the name sounded like a prayer.

Naruto leaned in close, much, much closer than was appropriate for two boys to be—even for a concerned friend. But Naruto couldn't help it—the movement was a reflex, an impulse, a subconscious urge far beyond his control.

Now Naruto was barely an inch away. He was closer to Sasuke than he had ever been to another human being. He could make out each individual black eyelash. He saw the pale etchings of tiny veins, lightly pulsing beneath the fragile skin under Sasuke's eyes. Naruto noticed the miniscule, colorless dusting of hair on Sasuke's white cheeks. He saw the way air drifted from between Sasuke's lips as the boy exhaled.

Sasuke's lips...

Suddenly, Naruto could look no where else. Dreamy azure eyes dilated and refocused as Naruto studied those lips. They were...the most beautiful pair of lips that Naruto had ever seen—on anyone, boy or girl . Pale, smooth, and full to the point of being luscious, Sasuke's lips were like none that Naruto had ever seen before.

Naruto was hit with the instant memory of the time that he and Sasuke had accidentally kissed. It had been nearly three years before, but Naruto still remembered how it felt...to be kissed. He had feigned revulsion, of course, but during that moment, Naruto had been more confused then he'd ever been in his life. He'd...liked the kiss. Really liked it. It had made his body blush all over, and something in his chest clenched like a fist. It was weird —he'd always liked girls, he knew that he liked girls, he thought girls were great. But...he liked Sasuke, too.

He liked Sasuke, too.

Naruto closed his eyes briefly, and when they re-opened, they were at half-mast. His eyelashes felt unusually heavy, he discovered, and suddenly his heart was beating way too fast. Naruto found himself leaning even closer, once again overwhelmed by urges he couldn't control. His tanned nose grazed Sasuke's pale one, and the feeling of the other boy's face brushing his made something flutter in the pit of Naruto's stomach.

Naruto swallowed. Now he was close enough to pick up on the subtle, almost non-existent scent of Sasuke's skin. It was...sweet. Not sweet like sugar or sweet like flowers, but sweet like...water. Glassy, misty water that was so cold it made your teeth hurt. Water you can only find in the earliest hours of sunshine, water so still and clear and glossy you don't even want to touch it, because disturbing such beauty would be a crime.

Naruto exhaled softly, gently releasing a lungful he didn't realize he'd been holding. His breath came out as a warm sigh, mingling seamlessly with Sasuke's own. Naruto could feel the other boy's body heat now, a delicate layer of sensation hovering just above Sasuke's lips.

Sasuke's lips...

They warmed Naruto's mouth, now. The heat spread throughout Naruto's entire face, and raced down his neck, then into his chest, where it delved into his heart. From there, Sasuke's heat was pumped into Naruto's blood, and it raced beneath his flesh, flooding his body in a complete and instantaneous rush. And Naruto wondered...Were Sasuke's lips as soft as he remembered?

Naruto lowered his face the remaining hair's width of distance, and his mouth touched Sasuke's—the first real kiss either of them had experienced.

Naruto's lips fit Sasuke's flawlessly. Naruto felt another flutter in his stomach, and this time, the feeling was unequivocally stronger. Sasuke's lips weren't, in fact, as soft as Naruto remembered—they were softer. A familiar full-body blush began to appear over Naruto's skin, and another kind of blush coated his insides, a blush hotter and more intense than any rushing of blood could ever be. This was a blush of emotion, a surge of feeling instead of blood, a gush of something hot and sweet and sad all at once, like tears of the heart.

And then Naruto pulled away, softly, his lips almost seeming to stick to Sasuke's. He was shivering slightly, though he couldn't begin to fathom why—he was hot all over. Naruto barely moved back two inches, wanting to remain close. He gently brushed a strand of hair from Sasuke's eyes, his pulse still racing.

Naruto realized then that things could never be the same again. Yes, Sasuke had been unconscious during their first real kiss, but Naruto wasn't. Naruto would remember it. He'd always remember. He'd remember the way Sasuke looked, smelled, and felt, all in excruciating detail—and it would hurt. It would hurt because Sasuke would never look at Naruto that way. He'd never look at Naruto at all, except to fight him or insult him. When Sasuke woke up, Naruto would see Sasuke every day, and every day he'd know that they'd never kiss again. Naruto would never feel the way he did a moment ago ever again, for the rest of his life.

That is, _if_ Sasuke woke up.

Something wet ran down the side of Naruto's face. He lifted two fingers to his cheek and brushed the wetness away. He stared at his damp fingers, fascinated. Tears, he realized. These were tears. How odd. Naruto couldn't remember the last time that he'd cried.

What was he crying for now? The answer should have been obvious—for his comatose team mate, of course. But that wasn't all. He was crying for Sasuke, yes, but he was also crying for himself. He was crying for everything that he'd been suspicious of for a long time now, and everything that had been confirmed by that one kiss. He was crying for...what?

...Maybe...all the—_everything_—that could have existed between himself and Sasuke, but never would. All of the...what? Trust? No. They had that. Friendship? No, they had that too. Naruto's feelings for Sasuke went deeper than that, went down to the very core of his being. He cared about Sasuke more than anyone else in the world. He wanted Sasuke to be safe, and happy, and—and...he wanted to be with Sasuke, too. More than anything.

Is this what they called...love?

Love, then.

...Love.

Well. Of all the reasons in the world to cry, Naruto figured this one was worth it.

At least he wasn't wasting his tears.

Naruto let his head fall into his hands. He dug his palms into his eyelids, trying in vain to keep the sudden influx of water from overflowing. Once he started crying, Naruto realized, it was amazingly difficult to stop. In fact, Naruto found it to be impossible. Soon he was shuddering, shaking from the effort of muffling his sobs. His breaths turned to ragged gasps—he was choking more than breathing. Actually, he was quickly becoming dizzy—from the lack of air or from the pressure of too many intense emotions, he wasn't sure.

He set his head down lightly on Sasuke's chest, bizarrely calmed by the steady way the older boy drew breath. The sobbing stopped, and tears streamed quietly and copiously, and Naruto felt a sadness that he had never known. It was strange—he'd been without friends for almost his entire life, but now, physically touching his most important person, Naruto felt true loneliness. No, it went beyond that. The empty, clawing hurt inside of him wasn't just loneliness—it was heartache.

Heartache. He was feeling heartache. He must really be in love, then.

Naruto walked his fingers up the sheet until he found Sasuke's hand, naturally curled in a demonstration of perfect grace, resting by his shoulder. Naruto laced his bronzed fingers through it, marveling faintly over the striking difference in skin tone. Naruto squeezed Sasuke's hand fiercely, hanging on with all his strength.

And then...it must have been a reflex, or some sort of subconscious muscle contraction, but somehow...Sasuke squeezed back.

And Naruto smiled.


	2. Chapter 2

_Pain._

_Everywhere there was…**pain.** So much agony, everywhere. Everywhere. He didn't even know if he was still being hurt or not. He tried to block the pain out the way he'd learned years before, but he couldn't. There was no where to go. There was nothing else to focus his mind on. Just…blackness. Pain and blackness._

_Eventually, slowly, slowly, the pain faded away, and all that was left was the blackness. He began to feel more comfortable as his nerves stopped reacting. He felt very light and vaguely warm. He wasn't sure how long this numbness lasted. It was blissful, really. No thought, no sensation, no dreams, no nothing. Just…existence…in its simplest form._

_But all good things must come to an end._

_Feeling began prickling in different parts of his body at random intervals, mostly in his right hand. His hand would grow warmer and stay that way for a while, then the heat would leave. Occasionally there was heat on his chest or forehead, but that would leave as well._

_And then there was noise._

_Noise was new. He couldn't remember the last time he'd heard anything. He lacked both the desire and the strength to try modifying the noise into actual words, but it was enough to just listen to something for a while. The noise was kind of nice noise—not too loud and not too much, and it was familiar, somehow._

"…_Sasuke…"_

_**What?**_

_Sasuke…That was his name, wasn't it? Yeah, it was. Or, it had been at one point. Who was saying his name? Couldn't they just leave him alone? He was tired, still, so tired. And he didn't want to think. He couldn't quite remember why he didn't want to think, what it was that he didn't want to dwell on, but he was sure that it was something important. Something important…but unpleasant. Numbness was so much better, of that he was sure. Numbness was better than everything._

_There was some more noise. The noise faded away after an immeasurable amount of time. There was total blackness for a while. Eventually, the noise came back again. There was more heat in his right hand. A thin trail of warmth ran up the inside of his elbow. Heat was absently rubbed into his left shoulder. The noise kept going._

…_Perhaps…there was something…even better…than numbness. Perhaps…this was better._

"…_Sasuke…"_

_Sasuke. Sasuke? Oh, yes. Sasuke. That was him._

"_Please…Sasu…wake…"_

_**What?**_

"…_Come on, Sasuke…"_

_**Come on…what?**_

"…_up, already."_

_**Speak in full sentences, would you? I can't understand you.**_

"_Jesus, Teme, wake the fuck up already!"_

_**Okay, I take it back. Fragments were better.**_

_There was more noise. Random dabs of heat were doled out along his left arm, a brush of warmth across his stomach, and one more swiped across his forehead. The noise kept going for a while. There was silence after a while, but there was still heat enclosing his right hand. The noise picked up again, briefly._

_Then, "…See you tomor…suke." Another silence, very short. "…Sweet dreams."_

…_Dreams. What were those, again? He couldn't remember._

_Blackness and noise began switching off and on. The intervals between the two seemed extremely irregular—he spent years in blackness and two moments with noise. Or sometimes, one hundred hours with noise and only a beat of blackness. Increased heat only touched him when there was noise, and he came to associate one with the other. Eventually, the noise morphed more and more frequently into sounds he could understand, and his own name was murmured incredibly often._

_The blackness was as pleasantly numb as ever, and the noise and warmth were very—almost unnaturally—comforting. He was…happy._

_And then he noticed something…rather odd. ...Extremely odd._

_He was conscious. _

_Well, not really. He couldn't make his body do anything, nor did he want his body to do anything. He didn't have full thoughts. But he found he could tell exactly what was going on around him. He could feel minute sensations, including a soft brush of air on his face and the smooth coolness of…maybe fabric?...beneath his body. He had no memory of where he was or how he'd gotten there, but he now had control over two—no, three—of his senses: smell, feeling, and hearing. He strained his ears for sounds, but there were none at the moment. A feeling of overwhelming exhaustion suddenly swept over him, and he could not fight it. He drifted into total blackness again._

_But then…the blackness receded. The noise returned after a while. This time, he could recognize almost all of the sounds._

"_Well, I'm back again," a voice—a very familiar voice—said clearly. He tried to place the voice. He knew it. Just…who was it?_

_There was a quiet click—maybe a door shutting? There was soft creaking as someone walked across protesting floorboards. Air whooshed over his face as someone stopped— and sat down?—near him._

"_Guess what, Sasuke?" the voice said with an obvious pout in its tone. _

_Oh, who was it? It was someone important, he was sure. Someone…very…important. But who? _

"_Tsunade-baa-chan was all mad at me again today," the voice continued. "She said I was coughing yesterday, so I shouldn't come visit. Can you believe that? I thought the matter was settled the first time she chewed me out over coming to see you. Annoying hag. She knows I'd come to see you anyway."_

_There was a pause. "I'm still pissed at you, by the way," the voice informed sullenly. "As soon as you come around, I'm kicking your ass, you got that? I could be training now! Or at least getting some sleep or something. You're wasting so much of my time!" _

_The voice paused again. This pause was much longer. He felt something subtle change in the air—he didn't know what it was, but now, everything seemed more energized. Each breath seemed to fill his lungs with something much stronger than oxygen._

"_Sasuke," the voice whispered, the tone totally different from a few moments before. The word was little more than a breath, a group of syllables uttered so reverently and with such perfect sweetness, the name sounded like a prayer._

_Then he knew. Somehow, that did it._

_**Naruto!**_

_There was a slight sound as Naruto shifted in his chair, and suddenly, the younger boy was very close. He could feel the other boy's body heat hovering above his face. And even though he shouldn't have, he felt his heart speed up, nervousness and excitement swirling in unfamiliar patterns inside of him._

_Naruto stayed an inch's distance away for what seemed like hours, overwhelming body heat radiating like the sun. He picked up the very slight scent of Naruto's skin, something that smelled fresh and warm, like grass in a sunny field. He breathed in each of Naruto's exhalations, the air so charged that it was almost electric._

_Suddenly, he was aware of Naruto's warm nose brushing his, then lightly skimming his right cheekbone. He felt a surge of an unknown emotion clogging in his chest, making the area above his left lung ache with steady throbs._

_There was another exhalation, and the soft breath seemed to caress his mouth—the same mouth that, now that he thought about it, was feeling extremely heavy and extremely sensitive at the moment, each oral nerve straining for a trace of Naruto's touch. _

_And then…he felt it. Naruto's lips dropped the remaining hair's-width onto his, and his body was flooded with an indescribable heat like he had never known._

_The area above his left lung throbbed again, so strongly it was actually painful—the first sensation of pain he had felt since…he couldn't remember when. But he was sure he'd never felt a pain like this one before. It wasn't the impersonal, harsh pain of physical injury—this pain was much more precise, much sharper, and white-hot. This pain was beautiful, and it effectively pierced that throbbing area in his chest. He felt like he was bleeding, but the fluid pulsing from the throbbing area wasn't blood—the liquid was thinner, lighter, and much more potent._

_Tears, maybe. Tears of the heart._

_And then Naruto pulled away, softly, their lips seeming to stick together for a moment. He didn't bother trying to dissect the event that had just occurred—this was clearly just an alternative to the blackness he'd been drifting through up until recently. He was just as incoherent as he'd always been, and obviously hallucinating. Hallucinating…and suddenly…very, very tired. _

_The all-consuming blackness welled up again, insistently dissolving his senses. As his frayed threads of consciousness pulled away yet again, he was vaguely aware of another noise. The sound of tears—real ones, that is. Were they his? He didn't think so. Naruto's, then._

_Since when did Naruto cry?_

…_He was too tired to think about it._

_Just before the blackness was fully complete, he felt a warm hand lace its fingers into his cool ones. They squeezed, hard—desperately. _

_As the last of his awareness left him, he summoned the last recesses of his strength, and did the one thing that he could think of._

_He squeezed back._

_**Oh, Naruto...**_

* * *

****

Sasuke opened his eyes.

He immediately regretted the action, for the moment he did so, blinding sunlight pierced his retinas like daggers. After a moment, Sasuke opened his eyes again, much more cautiously this time.

He was…He didn't know where the hell he was.

He was in some sort of…ward. He was lying on his back and felt extremely disinclined to move, so he could only appraise his surroundings from the corners of his eyes. The room he was in was very nearly empty, very clean, and very bright. The walls were off-white, the ceiling was slightly cracked, and several windows flooded the small space with sunrays.

Sasuke blinked a few times, trying to remember how he'd gotten here. He remembered…a fight, very vaguely. He remembered incredible amounts of pain. He remembered…swimming through a seemingly endless sea of blackness. Sasuke searched his memory, but there wasn't much else he could recall. He faintly remembered someone speaking while he drifted through the blackness, but he couldn't remember any of what they had said. And—

Sasuke's thought processes stopped abruptly as he was hit by a sudden recollection of…a very bizarre, incredibly humiliating dream. He couldn't remember many of the details, but of one thing he was certain—Uzumaki Naruto, his friend/rival and ally/enemy—had kissed him.

_Oh God._

Uchiha Sasuke did not blush. Members of the Uchiha clan in general did not blush. It was not a part of their genetic makeup. But as Sasuke remembered the inexplicable rush of heat his dream-self felt when Naruto's lips (Naruto's silken, tender lips) had touched his, Sasuke came dangerously close to contradicting his own DNA.

Naruto kissed him. How…debauched. How completely and utterly absurd. How totally and thoroughly revolting. How…how…

…How he wished that it had been real.

In a moment, all of the twisted, inappropriate thoughts Sasuke had recently begun to harbor for his teammate—and ruthlessly suppressed—came flooding back. Every dazzling smile that made his heart skip a beat, every casual touch that made his breathing halt—each memory shoved itself into the forefront of Sasuke's brain. This violent mental process, combined with the nearly overwhelming brightness of the sunlight, made Sasuke's head reel a little.

Sasuke shut his eyes again. He took in a deep breath and held it.

_Jesus, Uchiha,_ he berated himself. _Calm the hell down._

After a long moment, Sasuke's speeding heart beat slowed down to something resembling normal. He exhaled cautiously, then opened his eyes again.

The room had stopped spinning. That was good.

However…Sasuke was suddenly aware of a weight on his chest. It didn't make breathing much harder than usual, but there was definitely something there. He took another deep breath and gritted his teeth. Using an alarming amount of effort, Sasuke managed to wriggle into a sitting position, with his back braced against the headboard of his bed. The action made his whole body hurt and his vision swim. Impatiently, he closed his eyes yet again and waited for the dizzy spell to pass.

When Sasuke reopened his eyes, he discovered three things. First of all, his vision was clear. Much more importantly, a sleeping Uzumaki Naruto had his head resting on Sasuke's—_bare—_chest, and he was holding Sasuke's hand.

In the small, objective corner of Sasuke's mind that didn't freeze in shock, he realized that he was probably too young to have a heart attack. However, that was the only plausible explanation he came up with to describe what he was feeling at that moment.

He swallowed, forcing his pulse to slow down to a relatively normal speed. _Now. Dissect the situation calmly, Uchiha._

Okay.

What the…_hell…_was Naruto doing here? And with his head on Sasuke's—and holding Sasuke's—why—

Sasuke stopped there. He was starting to feel dizzy again.

Battling back much-too-distracting thoughts, Sasuke wiggled a little in place, hoping to nudge Naruto awake.

No response.

"Dobe," Sasuke said. "Hey, Dobe, wake up."

Nothing.

Sasuke sighed. Naruto was even stubborn in his sleep—Sasuke should have known. Now what?

Sasuke hesitated. "Na-Naruto," he forced out a moment later. The name tasted strange on his tongue. He said it so infrequently—opting instead for "duh, stupid," "be quiet, Dobe," or, his favorite, "Oi, move your elbow"—that actually _calling Naruto by name_ felt very weird.

Naruto mumbled something incoherent and rubbed his face against Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke swallowed.

He cleared his throat.

He took a deep breath.

"Naruto!" he said sharply.

Naruto's eyebrows twitched downward. He sighed heavily, blowing a path of warmth across Sasuke's collarbone. Naruto fidgeted a few times, mumbled something else, fluttered his eyelashes, then finally blinked open his eyes.

In the sun-bleached room, Naruto's eyes were two flashes of beautiful color—large and electric blue and perfect.

Sasuke hoped the sudden jolt of his heart wasn't audible through his chest.

Naruto blinked several more times before yawning widely. He stretched his arms out and rolled his shoulders, and when he relaxed, he dropped his right hand on Sasuke's stomach and his left absently against Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke swallowed again.

"Hey," he said softly.

Naruto's eyes snapped open. He sat up ramrod straight, tuffs of blonde hair sticking everywhere at once. His eyes were enormous wide and instantly glassy, overflowing with a million different shades of blue.

"Sa…Sa…"

Naruto's voice was breathless and thick with so many emotions, Sasuke's ears felt heavy. The gloss in Naruto's eyes intensified, and then he was crying, silent tears drenching his lower lashes and gliding down his cheekbones.

Before Sasuke realized what was happening, Naruto's hand came up and cupped his cheek, the blonde's fingers very warm against his face. Sasuke felt something tighten in his chest as Naruto's face began to contort, the younger boy's jaw locking as he fought back more tears.

"Oh my God," Naruto gasped, staring in Sasuke's eyes. "S-Sasuke! You're…you're okay!"

Sasuke glanced away, wanting to alleviate the pressure in his chest that_ would just not go away._

"I'm fine," Sasuke told the floor. "But, Naruto…What…happened?"

Silence.

Sasuke glanced back to Naruto. The boy's face was curiously blank, but there was something dark and ominous floating just behind his eyes, darkening the color.

Sasuke didn't like it.

"Whatever. I'll ask Sakura."

It took Sasuke a moment to realize that the voice that had spoken was his. He was a little—okay, very—surprised at his uncharacteristic pardon, but once he glimpsed the total relief in Naruto's eyes, Sasuke knew that it was worth it.

But there was something else bothering Sasuke. Something that couldn't be pardoned or left unexplained. Something that he _definitely_ couldn't ask Sakura about.

Something that Sasuke both wanted and didn't want to know the answer to.

"Um, Naruto…" Sasuke began, dropping his eyes to his bandaged chest and feeling a bizarre heat in his cheeks.

Sasuke saw Naruto lean forward from the corner of his eye.

"Yes, Sasuke?" Naruto asked immediately, unconsciously placing a hand on the inside of Sasuke's elbow. The sensitive skin there broke out in goose bumps beneath Naruto's fingertips.

"I'm going to ask you something, and you're going to give me a yes or no answer," Sasuke stated. "You're not going to say anything besides 'yes' or 'no' when I ask my question. If I hear anything _other than_ 'yes' or 'no,' I'll beat you into next week."

Sasuke raised his eyes to Naruto's face, making sure the foreboding threat was taken fully seriously.

"I don't even want to hear you clear your throat," Sasuke warned.

Naruto nodded vehemently, his eyes wide and expectant.

Sasuke promptly dropped his eyes back down to his chest, that absurd heat flaring up in his face again.

"…Right," he got out eventually. "…Did I just have the weirdest dream ever, or did you kiss me?"

Naruto jolted.

It really was a jolt. It certainly wasn't a tremble, or even a jump. No, it was a definite _jolt._ Naruto gave a sort of full-body twitch, with every muscle from his temples to his Achilles Tendon clenching and unclenching in rapid succession.

After Naruto's body once again became motionless, there was a moment of perfect stillness. Naruto's face was perfectly expressionless, giving away nothing—he could have felt anything from disgust to delight. Sasuke could hear his own pulse thumping erratically in his ears.

And then Naruto's face flooded with color.

He didn't answer.

"…Naruto?" Sasuke prompted after a moment.

Naruto's head dropped, his blonde bangs falling forward and hiding his eyes.

Silence.

"Hey, Naruto," Sasuke repeated.

Naruto's blush was so red, it looked painful. As Sasuke watched, the harsh color raked its ugly fingers down Naruto's tanned neck.

After another few long moments of silence, Sasuke felt his already-stressed patience burn out completely.

"Hey, Dobe!" he snapped. "I asked you a question! Yes or no!"

Naruto's head flicked up suddenly, his face painted with humiliation and his eyes wet from unshed tears.

"Yes!" he shouted, every sinew of his body screaming torment. "Yes, I did it, okay? I'm sorry! I just—" Naruto's voice broke.

Without another word, and almost before Sasuke's eyes could process the movement, Naruto was bolting—half-way to the door before Sasuke could blink.

An alien surge of panic flooded Sasuke's chest like water through a shattered dam.

"Wait!" Sasuke yelled reflexively, flinging his arm out toward his best friend in some pathetic illusion of contact.

Sasuke didn't know what did it, but some part of the unnamed desperation in his voice must have resonated, because Naruto froze with his hand on the doorknob as if physically barred from moving. He whipped his head around, his face flushed and miserable, his eyes glassy and tortured and so achingly beautiful, it hurt to look at them.

Sasuke's thoughts sputtered.

"Uhm…could you just—…just…wait a minute," Sasuke requested brokenly. Naruto remained motionless by the door, staring at Sasuke with that same anguished expression on his face, staring with those eyes that fractured Sasuke's thought patterns with just one look.

"Come over here," Sasuke said.

By some miracle, Naruto obeyed, though he seemed to shrink exponentially with every step he took toward Sasuke's cot. He stopped about a foot away, looking down at his feet with such a look of dejection and shame on his face, Sasuke couldn't take it anymore.

With a rapid blur of movement, Sasuke reached out, seized the front of Naruto's shirt, and yanked the younger boy toward him.

In a reflexive attempt to regain his abruptly lost balance, Naruto took a large step forward…which left him sprawled across Sasuke's lap. Sasuke hissed in a pained breath at the almost staggering blow to his injured midsection, but he made no move to get Naruto off of him.

After a moment of strained silence, Naruto shifted positions—he pulled back so he was no longer lying across Sasuke stomach, but instead was kneeling at Sasuke side, leaving the two boys at eyelevel.

Naruto drew in a somewhat shaky breath before swallowing and speaking.

"Sa-Sasuke," he said, his voice very quiet and severely humble. "I—I'm so sorry. I…don't' know what to say. I'm just…really, really sorry. I promise I'll never do it again. Just, please don't…hate me."

The last two words were spoken so quietly, Sasuke could barely hear them. But when he did, a flash of anger flared in a black knot in his gut.

He reached out and firmly grasped Naruto's shoulder with one hand and the blonde's with the other. Naruto's eyes were darkened with a sadness so complete, Sasuke could barely comprehend it.

Sasuke tilted Naruto's chin up, forcing the blonde to look into his eyes.

"I…will _never_…hate you, Naruto," Sasuke said haltingly, his voice not seeming to function properly. "There isn't…a _thing _on this _earth_…that you could do to me…to make me hate you…Remember that."

Naruto's eyes were wide and heartbreakingly vulnerable.

"So…" Naruto began quietly, tilting his face down a fraction of and inch, staring up at Sasuke embarrassedly through thick blonde eyelashes. "You're not…mad at me?"

Naruto sounded so innocent just then—like a child. Sasuke's expression softened into something dangerously close to a smile.

"No," he assured. "I'm not mad at you."

Relief—and even happiness—visibly flooded Naruto's eyes, rinsing the dark stains from his beautiful eyes.

Sasuke hesitated.

"Actually, I was kind of wondering…" He stopped.

Naruto blinked curiously. "Yes, Sasuke?"

And there it was again—that ridiculous warmth in Sasuke's cheeks _that was not a blush._

"Well…" Sasuke stopped again.

"What is it, Sasuke?" Naruto was really curious now, his head cocked to the side like a lovely golden bird.

_Oh, out with it, Uchiha. _

Sasuke suddenly gifted the other boy with a lopsided half-smirk, the aloof effect of which was greatly diluted by the remaining heat in Sasuke's face.

"Are you quite certain you'll never kiss me again? Because, you know, I'm not sure I would mind."

Naruto's face turned so red so quickly, it couldn't have been healthy.

"W-What?" he stuttered, blue eyes round and luminous.

Sasuke trailed the hand still holding Naruto's chin up to rest against the younger boy's tanned cheek. Sasuke leaned upwards until he was only two inches from Naruto's face. He allowed his eyes to drift to Naruto's mouth, remembering the astounding zing he felt when that mouth touched his.

"Kiss me," Sasuke murmured.

Sasuke both heard and felt Naruto's sharp intake of breath that followed. Slowly, slowly, so slowly, Sasuke wasn't sure if he was actually moving, Naruto let a hand drift down to cup Sasuke's pale neck, leaving his thumb brush feather-light against the base of Sasuke's earlobe. Sasuke's pulse sped up enough to force his breath to come faster. Naruto pulled so, so gently on Sasuke neck to tilt the older boy's head back a little more. Sasuke followed the unspoken direction as Naruto brought their faces a hair's width apart.

"Okay," Naruto breathed across Sasuke's lips, replying to the request/order that Sasuke couldn't remember he'd given.

And then the distance was gone, and Naruto's mouth was against Sasuke's. The heat Sasuke had experienced when Naruto kissed him while he lay in a coma was nothing compared to this. This—flame—Sasuke felt in his blood was almost too intense to handle. It made that bruised area above his left lung clench and swell in its fiery grip. A faint corner of Sasuke's mind wondered if the heat would sear his bones apart, if he was such a lightweight as to kick the bucket from just one kiss.

One amazing kiss.

_Well,_ Sasuke thought hazily. _If you've got to die, then this is **definitely** the way to go._


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: **My God. Has it really been a year since I've posted anything? Yes, it has! Gee. I don't know what to say, you guys, except that I expect to be punished by not getting half the number of reviews I got before, since virtually all of you have probably _long_ stopped keeping track of my non-updates…

But basically, I apologize. I just got busy with real life and other stories and stuff…Gee. Guess it just got out of hand.

Anyway…Yeah! I'm resurrecting this fic because I got a sudden, random pang to work on it some more. I know I announced it as "complete" a while back, but…whatever. I'm un-completing it…if that makes sense…O.o

I do plan to resurrect "I Love Teaching" as well. I'm working on the next chapter (is it #7?) as we speak. .

So, without further ado (I've kept you guys waiting long enough…) here's chapter 3 of "Tears of the Heart"!

(…Standard **disclaimers** still apply.)

Chapter 3

Naruto woke with a start, jerking so violently, he almost fell off his bed. He pressed a hand to his chest, feeling an erratic heartbeat beneath his sweat-dampened t-shirt. He panted to catch his breath, glancing over at his digital clock on the nightstand.

1:12 a.m.

Naruto sighed and rubbed one blue eye with the back of his hand. He'd been waking up in the wee hours of the morning every night for the past week now. He hadn't had nightmares for a long time, but now the terrible dreams from his childhood were back in full force—modified to fit current circumstances, of course. These days, Naruto's nightmares alternated between flashes of memory of the fight with that weirdo that left him in the hospital, the usual slew of stone-throwing villagers, and…nightmares of a different sort altogether. The sort of nightmares that made him wake up panting for more reasons than one.

This nightmare had been of that last sort.

Naruto was highly undecided about whether it was preferable to the fight.

Naruto swallowed and pushed his too-long bangs out of his face with a minutely shaking hand.

…_On second thought…I'll take the fight. Definitely._

Naruto took a deep breath and fell back against the mattress with an audible thump. He began counting the cracks in the plaster ceiling. His eyelids grew increasingly heavy until he was almost asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness.

But…something wasn't right.

Abruptly, Naruto sat up again, wide awake.

_Sasuke. _

He hadn't seen him since the day before Sasuke's release from the hospital, the day Sasuke and Naruto had…erm…yeah. Obviously, it was _way _too awkward to talk to each other about—in fact, it was too awkward to talk to each other at all. But…Naruto had to see him again. He'd almost lost Sasuke so many times—this recent incident was the latest of many. Risking your life on a regular basis came with being a ninja, Naruto knew, but this was different. Sasuke had never been that close to death before…with the possible exception of the time with Zabuza and Haku. And this recent incident just reminded Naruto of something that he had to do.

He had to tell Sasuke that…that…

That he…

Um…

_I love you._

…yeah.

Naruto had no idea how he'd force out what he needed to say, but he had to do it somehow. Or show it, or something. Because he and Sasuke risked their lives all the time, and the thought that one of them might die before Sasuke knew…that Naruto…loved him…well, he just couldn't let that happen. He couldn't bear it.

And he knew it would take a good amount of time to muscle up the courage to say what he felt…especially when he imagined what Sasuke's face would look like if he didn't feel the same…so Naruto figured he'd better start now. He was awake anyway.

Naruto rolled off his bed and dropped to the floor, landing on the threadbare rug with no more noise than a cat. He strained his ears for the slightest sound as he snatched a pair of ripped training pants off the floor and slipped into them. He swiped one of his many kunai from beneath his mattress—one of countless hiding spots. He placed an absent hand on his stomach as he headed toward the front door, feeling the comforting, virtually undetectable heat of the Kyuubi seal.

Approximately a minute later, Naruto was already half-way down the street.

The sidewalk was rough and astonishingly hard beneath Naruto's bare feet. He really should've taken the extra thirty seconds to put on shoes, but it was too late now. He was running now, and no force in heaven or hell could stop him.

The night was very cold against the exposed skin of his arms, and the cold stung his still-sleepy eyes. It was amazingly dark, the flickering streetlights seeming to almost make the shadows worse. Naruto stumbled. He fell heavily on his knees, but the pain barely registered. He was up again within a moment.

_Run. Run. Run. More. Faster. Go faster. Farther. Keep going. You need to get there. Get there, get there, get there…_

What would Sasuke say? Ooh, it was going to be bad. Very bad. True, he'd sort of…well, there was the kiss and everything…but that must have been delirium from the drugs or a hallucination or something. Because Sasuke would never do something like that. But people with severe internal injuries did stupid things they didn't mean all the time, Naruto figured. Stupid things like kissing their hated teammate that they'd never want to look at in a romantic context again.

_Run, run, run, get there, get there, get there, run, run, run…_

Yeah. Sasuke was going to freak. He'd probably never want to see Naruto's face after tonight—this morning—whatever. Naruto had seen it happen before. When he was little, he'd meet a kid, and they'd get along really well and play for a while, but when the kid saw Naruto the next day, he wouldn't even look at Naruto. Whenever the kid accidentally made eye-contact, he'd look away and pretend he didn't see Naruto. Naruto asked why once, and the kid said his mom didn't want him to play with Naruto anymore, and he shouldn't even look at Naruto if he could help it.

_Run. Faster. Keep going. Leave him. He doesn't matter. You'll have other friends. Just get away from him. Faster. Get away. Away, away, away. Run…_

Yeah. That sucked.

_Run, run, run, get there, get there, get there, run, run, run…_

But Naruto could barely imagine how much it would suck when Sasuke rejected him like that.

_Run. Run more. Keep going. Faster. Don't stop._

He shouldn't say anything at all. He knew that. But he had to. Because…because…

_Don't stop…_

Because…Naruto loved Sasuke.

_Never stop…_

He just did. He didn't want to. God knows things would be easier if he didn't. But he couldn't help it.

_Never stop…_

And he wasn't going to stop.

_Never, ever stop…_

Never.

_Never._

Stop.

_Stop._

"I'll never stop," Naruto said aloud. His voice was almost inaudible, barely heard above his harsh panting.

_I love you and I'll never stop._

After what must have been several years, exhaustion finally managed to match Naruto's speed, and it tackled him with the force of a linebacker. The young shinobi collapsed where he stood, dropping to the pavement. Naruto's nerves cried out from the abuse, but he was deaf their noise.

A cold, fat drop of water plunked onto Naruto's skull. He looked up with unfocused blue eyes. The black sky trembled for a moment, then the streets whispered and hissed with the fall of rain.

Naruto was soaked instantaneously. The rain was very cold and very fast, but not hard. It enveloped the blonde in a wet blanket, running soft fingers through his hair and down the back of his neck. Objectively, Naruto felt his body temperature dropping, and a corner of his mind told him it would be very wise to get out of the rain. But…he didn't feel like it. Maybe if he stayed out in the rain long enough, it would just wash him away.

Abruptly, a strong flash of light cut into the corner of Naruto's vision. He didn't react to it, but when the source of the light, a streak of lightening, brought an ominous crack of thunder with it, the cold numbness of Naruto's mind was shattered.

He sputtered and shook his head, flinging water in all different directions. He rubbed his face, trying to clear his vision, but every time his ran his hands over his eyes, another gallon of rainwater came crashing down and blinded him.

Naruto groped for something to grab, his hand coming down on a broken street sign. He hauled himself shakily to his feet, taking some deep breaths and instructing himself to process the facts of his situation.

Fact: It was the middle of the night.

Fact: He was so wet, he couldn't even feel the rain anymore.

Fact: His fingertips, toes, nose, and ears were all going a little numb from the cold.

Fact: He was still recovering from blood loss.

Fact: If he didn't find shelter, he would become incredibly ill.

Fact: He couldn't go home. Not now. Not after he'd to talk find Sasuke.

Fact: He didn't know where Sasuke lived.

Fact: His feet were rubbed raw, and he was exhausted—he couldn't go much father.

Fact: There were no inns or anything around, from what Naruto could see, but it didn't matter—he didn't have any money to pay for half a night's lodging.

Fact: He didn't know where he was.

Fact: If he didn't figure out where he was, and get out of this rain, pretty soon, then he would end up with pneumonia.

_So,_ Naruto thought. _I guess I'd better figure out where I am._

Naruto glanced around. Judging by the tall, impressive buildings surrounding him, not to mention the smell of wealth that the rain couldn't quite wash away, Naruto was in one of the seriously upscale parts of the village.

He must have gone pretty far, then.

Naruto swiped his hands over his eyes again, as if by some miracle, his vision would clear this time. It didn't. He jogged awkwardly to the end of the block, but then stopped. On his right, there was a small footbridge some twenty yards away. On the other side were some more buildings. The buildings didn't look too different, but a select few windows had lights in them. Maybe someone would be kind enough to allow a half-drowned teenaged shinobi to use their phone so he could call Iruka.

"Yeah, right," Naruto said to himself, walking over and shuffling across the bridge. "That's pretty fucking likely.Not."

Naruto followed the road aimlessly, half-heartedly glancing at street signs he couldn't see. Eventually, Naruto found himself walking along side the same buildings he'd seen from the footbridge. (How long ago had that been, again? Half an hour? Half the night? Hard to say.) He glanced at one of the gates as he passed it.

It was decorated with a red and white fan.

Naruto stopped walking. He took a step closer and looked up through the gate, trying to get a better look at the house—mansion—behind it. He instantly regretted looking up because his nose was flooded with water, and he bent double, coughing and sputtering. He shivered violently, so cold his teeth ached. He stood upright again, rubbing his eyes.

The fan looked back at him.

"What _is_ this place?" Naruto questioned out loud. He stood there for several long moments, frowning in concentration. The memory was just out of reach. He didn't know it, but he _knew_ it. You know?

And then he remembered.

Naruto began digging around in on of the back pockets of his jeans.

"Shit," he said, coming up empty and trying the other back pocket. "I hope I left it in these pants like I wasn't supposed to." A few seconds later, and Naruto grinned, his fingers brushing something laminated.

"Yes!" he shouted, triumphantly pulling out the small photo. "I knew I was much better off not listening to people!"

His grin faded as he looked over the picture. It was an old photo of Team Seven. Kakashi loomed over Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto as the three genin stood in the foreground. Sakura's hair was longer than it was now, Naruto was skinnier and shorter, and Sasuke…well, Sasuke looked virtually the same. Taller, maybe, with broader shoulders and a bigger muscles, but highly recognizable. And there on his shirt, where he was obstinately turning his face to the side and his back to the camera…

…was a red and white fan.

Naruto's pulse accelerated of its own accord. He looked around and spotted a very small set of kanji carved into a plaque on the gate.

_Uchiha._

Naruto looked back at the mansion. So, this was the infamous Uchiha compound where all that shit with Sasuke's family happened. It looked deceptively normal…discounting the huge buildings everywhere Naruto could see.

_Well, here we go…_

He took a deep breath, swallowed hard, and vaulted over the gate.

He walked over to the building directly in front of the gate and stopped. What if this wasn't the building Sasuke lived in? He looked at it closely, as if he'd be able to make out signs of his teammate through the dark and the incessant sheets of water.

He probably had to break in just to check if Sasuke was inside. And that probably wouldn't be the case, since there were a lot of houses.

Naruto sighed. He got moving.

Nearly thirty minutes later, Naruto started jimmying yet another front door. Jesus, how many houses are in this freaking place?

The lock clicked and Naruto pushed opened the door, only to leap back off the porch when the spot he'd been standing in exploded with a muted _boom. _The door slammed shut, seemingly of its own accord.

"I guess…" Naruto swallowed. "…someone's home."

Naruto swallowed again. He stood in front of the booby-trapped door for a full five minutes, motionless except for the shivers he couldn't suppress. A steady stream of water ran down the back of his neck, and some more water ran down the inside of his leg. He shivered again.

He raised his arm and made a fist.

He let his knuckles hover above the thick wood.

He stood there…for the longest time.

Then there was a knocking sound. It took Naruto a few moments to realize that it had been him. There was no response from the other side of the door. Not able to stop shivering now, Naruto knocked again. He kept knocking, growing increasingly desperate when he didn't hear anything.

Maybe there was no one was here. Maybe Naruto had the wrong house again. The explosion could have just been a routine trap to ward off burglars. Or worse—maybe someone _was_ home, but knew that it was Naruto at the door, and didn't want to let him in. Naruto knocked louder, then began pounding the door with the side of his fist. He felt the wood begin to splinter under his onslaught.

…There was a muffled curse. On the other side of the door were the unmistakable noises of someone stumbling down the stairs. Naruto continued to knock as footsteps approached.

The door was wrenched open, and Naruto almost slammed his fist into a pale forehead.

"What the _hell_—"

The voice stopped.

Naruto was silent for a moment, staring at his best friend. Sasuke wore navy boxers and an open button-down shirt that hung off one muscled shoulder. His abdomen was flat and ridged with unyielding muscles, and his chest was broad and smooth and raked over with tiny pale scars. His black hair was sticking up and out in impossible clumps, forming the most fantastic case of bed-head that Naruto had ever seen. There was skin everywhere Naruto looked, lots and lots of skin, white and smoother than everything and it looked like the flesh of God and Jesus, Naruto just wanted to reach out and run his hands down it, lunge forward and rub his face into it….

Stunning black eyes were wide with shock. Naruto came back to himself.

After the longest minute in the world, Naruto rubbed the back of his head and grinned widely, his shivers so violent that he could barely pull his lips away from his teeth.

"…Uh," Naruto said brilliantly. "Heh-heh…Hey, Sasuke."


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Still applies. Don't own, not making money, etc, etc…

**Warnings:** See first chapter.

**Author's Note:** Dudes! Here's the next installment of this. I know a bunch of you want the next part of "I Love Teaching" to come out, and I am writing it, but I'd already written half of this when I published chapter three, so it was the easiest to finish…

But I _will_ publish chapters of "I Love Teaching." Chapter 7 is in the works. But in the mean time, enjoy this one, okay:giant kitty eyes:

Chapter 4

Sasuke was...surprised.

As a member of the Uchiha family, it went against Sasuke's genetic code to feel strong emotions of any kind. Ideas such as fear, shock, joy, etc. were just that to Uchiha—ideas. So, when Sasuke's...erm, teammate...arrived at his apartment at two in the morning, absolutely sopping and shivering something wicked, Sasuke was simply surprised.

Really, really surprised.

...Yeah. Surprised. Let's call it that.

"Naruto," Sasuke said, his voice almost perfectly expressionless. "What...are you doing here?"

Naruto's characteristic cheesy grin faded into a pout. He crossed his arms and began tapping his foot, bare toes squishing wetly with every thump against the porch.

"Excuse me? 'What are you doing here?' Oh hell no," Naruto said. "I did not just come out of my way—in the rain, Uchiha, it's raining, ya know —to subrogate—"

"Subjugate," Sasuke corrected.

"—myself to this shit," Naruto continued, ignoring Sasuke's interruption. Naruto turned around and began retreating down the porch. He raised a hand in a half-wave.

"Fuck this shit. I'll see you tomorrow, fuck."

Naruto continued walking to the porch steps, and was about to descend when he paused, one foot hovering above the first stair. He blinked, seeming to come to an extremely important realization. Comically robotic, he abruptly pivoted on his heel. He marched back over to Sasuke's front door, squish-squish-squelching all the way.

"...Heh-heh," Naruto said awkwardly, using, as per usual, a huge grin to mask his discomfort. "Um...could I just...dry off a bit before I go?"

Sasuke blinked slowly, trying to process the increasingly bizarre circumstances he was being presented with. He'd always known—since he and Naruto had met—that Naruto was a seriously weird kid. But showing up at Sasuke's house (and how the hell did Naruto figure out where Sasuke lived, anyway? He made sure to keep the location of the Uchiha compound a secret to his teammates…) in the middle of the night was going above and beyond Naruto's typical level of abnormality. This was almost too weird to deal with. And, admittedly, extremely awkward, too. Especially since this was the first time the boys had seen each other since Sasuke had gotten out of the hospital. Since—

Sasuke commanded himself to stop thinking immediately.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke blinked, refocusing on Naruto's face. The younger boy looked suddenly vulnerable, luminous eyes huge with nervousness. He took a half-step backwards, anticipating Sasuke's rejection.

It never came.

Sasuke reached out and grasped Naruto's wrist with his calloused hand. The iciness of Naruto's skin contradicted its warm, sun-kissed color. Naruto looked into Sasuke's face, clearly confused.

"…Well, come in already," Sasuke commanded gruffly. "You're flooding my hallway."

* * *

Naruto stepped into the mansion immediately. Sasuke shut the door, since Naruto was occupied with rubbing warmth back into his arms. Now that he was inside, Sasuke knew, Naruto would be feeling even colder than before. The sudden heat of the house would be a shock to Naruto's system, which had adjusted itself to being extremely wet and cold. 

Goose bumps on Naruto's skin were visible even from where Sasuke stood, more than a foot away. The younger boy was shivering so violently, it looked like his body was being shot through with electric bolts.

"Um," Naruto said, teeth clicking together loudly. "C-Could I bor-row a towel or s-something?"

Sasuke blinked.

"Yes," he said, berating himself for not thinking of this immediately. "Of course."

Sasuke ran into the closest bathroom and snatched one of his towels off towel rack. He trotted back over to Naruto, who was hugging himself desperately and bent slightly at the waist. At Sasuke's approach, Naruto straightened.

Jesus. Naruto's clothes were plastered to his body, making him seem skinny and sad, like a wet bird with all its feathers stuck to its skin. His blonde hair dripped torrents of water down his face, and his skin had paled beneath his tan. Even the brilliant blue of his eyes seemed paler, less vivid than usual. He looked so, so cold.

Before Sasuke even realized what he was doing, he was wiping the rain off Naruto's face with a corner of the towel. Naruto froze—even his shivering subdued slightly. Feeling oddly disconnected from his body, Sasuke ran the towel over Naruto's skin, pushing the wet bangs off his forehead, brushing the tip of his nose, drying his cheeks. The towel crept lower. Sasuke watched, fascinated, as it caught the corner of Naruto's mouth…

The boys jumped apart simultaneously. Sasuke threw the towel into Naruto's face and spun around, not eager to see what was sure to be panic in Naruto's eyes.

_Get a grip, Uchiha. What is __**wrong**__ with you?_

Sasuke glanced around the living room, suddenly wanting to do something with his hands. His eyes fell on the stairs in the corner of the room that led upstairs—to his bedroom. He looked away quickly.

"Um," he said brilliantly. "I'll get you some clothes."

Naruto didn't respond, just continued to rub his face with the towel.

Sasuke dashed upstairs and snatched one of his t-shirts and a pair of pants from their respective drawers in his bureau. He ran back downstairs, trying very hard not to think about Naruto wearing his clothes, keeping his mind from imagining the way Naruto's wet thighs would stick to the insides of Sasuke's pants…

_Nngh. _

Sasuke stopped half-way down the stairs, blinked hard a few times, carefully rearranged his features into an expression of bored superiority, then reemerged from the staircase and walked over to Naruto. The younger boy was vigorously towel-drying his hair. Naruto stopped abruptly and shook himself like a dog, water flying everywhere. Sasuke got splashed.

"Oi!" the sixteen-year-old snapped. "Cut that out!"

Naruto froze and blinked. His blonde hair was thrown everywhere around his head and face, sticking up in little yellow tuffs. He looked about eight years old.

Naruto grinned cheekily. "Oh, heh-heh, sorry, Sasuke," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's kind of a habit."

"Well, break it," Sasuke said. "It's annoying. And you'll get a concussion if you keep shaking your head around like that."

Naruto attempted to scowl, but as an unfailingly joyful person, the best he could manage was a pout. "I'm not going to get a concussion. You're just pissed off 'cause I got you wet."

_Nngh. "Pissed off" isn't exactly the term I'd use…_

Sasuke threw the clothes into Naruto's face.

"Put those on," he said.

Naruto hesitated, clutching the clothes to his stomach.

"Well, what are you waiting for? You're dripping all over my floor."

Naruto hesitated for another moment before reaching for the hem of his shirt and stripping it off. And everything went really quiet all of a sudden and the shirt hit the floor with a wet splat loud enough to startle, but Sasuke wasn't really paying attention to it, because Naruto's chest was beautiful and unscarred, and his stomach was flat and sloped downward into his pants and the dip of his navel looked obscene, and there was a lewd little notch right in between his collarbones that made Sasuke want to sink his teeth into it and feel the arch of Naruto's throat as he threw his head back…

Sasuke turned around.

"Come upstairs when you're done," he said, heading for the steps and trying to ignore the heat coiling around and around in his abdomen.

* * *

There was a tentative knock on Sasuke's open bedroom door a few minutes later, and he looked up from where he was pretending to read a book on strategy. 

"Ne, Sasuke," Naruto said, tugging at the waistband of Sasuke's pants. "I think these clothes are too big."

They were. They almost fit height-wise, since Naruto had just gone through a growth-spurt, but because of said growth-spurt, the blonde was left as a beanpole that his muscles couldn't quite compensate for yet. Sasuke's growth was much steadier, so his body had been almost perfectly proportional since he was about ten. As a result, Naruto was shorter and skinnier then Sasuke was, and the Uchiha's clothes hung off Naruto's frame the way a trench coat would hang off a scarecrow. And they fit even worse because Naruto was wet, clinging in odd places and drooping in others. Namely, the shirt was loose over Naruto's stomach but grabbed his hips and shoulders, and the pants were loose over his calves and ankles but the inseam licked his legs from his knees to his groin. Sasuke became very busy not staring at this for several seconds.

"…Whatever," Sasuke said eventually, because he was pretty sure Naruto had asked him a non-rhetorical question a minute ago.

"What about my clothes?"

"I'll dry them in the morning."

"So I'm supposed to just walk home like this?"

"Unless you'd rather be naked."

Naruto rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Sasuke felt a very strange thrill at seeing Naruto's skin pressed against his shirt. "What if someone notices?"

"What?"

"What if someone notices that I'm wearing your clothes?"

"They won't. Those clothes don't have the Uchiha crest."

"Yeah, but…what if they notice anyway?"

"Oh, I don't know, Naruto!" Sasuke said, frustrated. "I guess they'll assume we slept together or something!"

Naruto's face flooded with color. Sasuke felt his own face do the Uchiha-equivalent. Sasuke resisted the urge to clear his throat.

"…Whatever," he said after a few incredibly awkward moments. He got off his bed and left the room and after a second, Naruto followed. Sasuke opened a door next to his room and gestured for Naruto to enter. Naruto stepped into a well-kept, incredibly impersonal bedroom, with expensive, bland furniture and a moderately-sized bed pressed against one of the white walls.

"Here," Sasuke said. "Now go to sleep. We'll wait until the sun rises before we talk about why you had to come wake me up at two in the morning."

And Sasuke left the room and closed the door before he could do anything stupid.

* * *

He flopped down on the mattress in his own room and stared at the darkened ceiling. The moon was very bright, and a sliver of light cut into the room where Sasuke had failed to fully shut the curtains. Somehow, that one sliver of light made the shadowy room seem even darker than usual. 

Sasuke rolled onto his side and stared at the wall. The wall, the wall that was the only separation between Sasuke's bed and Naruto's in the next room. Sasuke reached out his hand and placed it on the cool plaster. He swore he could feel Naruto's body heat leaking through.


End file.
